Louise Gillis couldn’t take the smile off her face as she stood in the lobby of the Sydney Curling Club on Thursday.

That’s because the local curler was proudly wearing the gold medal her team had won at the Canadian Visually Impaired Curling Championship in Ottawa on Feb. 8.

Team Nova Scotia, featuring skip Gillis, Terrylynn MacDonald and Mary Campbell, captured the national championship, defeating Ontario 8-1 in the finals, a moment Gillis will never forget.

“We were ahead 5-1 after five ends, but we knew that a lot could have changed and all they (Ontario) needed to do was get a four-ender and we’d be tied,” said Gillis recalling the championship draw.

“We settled down and continued to play – I thought they would stop after six ends because we were up 7-1 at that time, but they wanted to try another end and we stole another one from them.”

Gillis has participated in 12 Canadian Visually Impaired Curling Championships over her career and has won bronze medals, but never won the title until this year.

“It’s the first time the medal has been won by anyone outside of British Columbia or Ontario,” said Gillis of the gold medal. “We were very excited to be able to bring the gold medal to the Maritimes.”

Along with Nova Scotia, the five-day tournament featured Team Canada, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.

The Gillis rink, which curls out of the Sydney Curling Club, posted a 4-2 record in the round robin, the team’s only losses coming to Team Canada and Ontario.

Nova Scotia opened the tournament with a 6-5 loss to Ontario, before defeating Alberta (8-2) and losing 9-2 to Canada. The team then went on to beat Manitoba 10-5, Saskatchewan 12-3 and British Columbia 14-2.

In the semifinals, Nova Scotia edged Canada 8-7, advancing to the finals against Ontario, who had posted a 6-0 record at the event prior to the finals.

“When we got up against Team Ontario – Ann LaFontaine is the skip for that team and I’ve known her for a number of years — I told her that we were going out on the ice and whoever won, won and that we’d still be friends after it, but on the ice, we were going to try our best and she agreed, “ said Gillis.

After the championship game, Gillis couldn’t help but think of the first year Nova Scotia had competed in the tournament 12 years ago.

“When we came to the event for the first time, we had only been on the ice nine or 10 times and we had hoped to at least win one end,” said Gillis.

“That year we won 15 ends and got the most inspirational team award and we kept working at it and from that time on it was worth it.”

The Gillis rink received a warm welcome when they arrived at the Halifax airport last weekend. The team was met by Cape Breton-Canso MP Roger Cuzner and Cape Breton Regional Municipality Mayor Cecil Clarke, congratulating them on the success.

“Our friends were there with signs at the airport and nobody really knew who we were, but everyone started clapping when they found out we had won the medal,” said Gillis.

jeremy.fraser@cbpost.com

Twitter: @CBPost_Jeremy

Road to the Canadian Visually Impaired Curling Championship gold medal: